Benton's Communications-related Headlines for 5/17/04

This week's policy events include Congressional hearings on competition in
the communications marketplace and the CAN-SPAM Act, as well as the FCC's
Wireless Broadband Forum. For more media policy events, see
http://www.benton.org/calendar.htm

Communications-related Headlines is a free online news summary service
provided by the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org). Posted Monday through
Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments,
policy issues, and other related news events. Headlines are compiled by
Kevin Taglang -- we welcome your comments.

TELEVISION & RADIO
FCC's Localism Task Force Public Hearing in Rapid City, South Dakota
More Money for Broadcast Networks
The Political Standard
Indecency Bill Prospects Dimming
Some A La Carte Calls Cite Net 'Porn'
Masses Tune Into HDTV
With Second Channel, FM Branches Out
NFCB Seeks Unit to Assist Native Radio

TELECOM
AT&T Is Rebuffed By Regional Bells On Arbitration
Ventures Aim to Cut Cost of Overseas Cell Calls to Pennies
Craig McCaw's Secret Plan
New Telephone Subscribership Report

FUNDING FOR INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS

TELEVISION & RADIO

FCC'S LOCALISM TASK FORCE PUBLIC HEARING IN RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA
The FCC's Localism Task Force will meet Wednesday evening May 26 in Rapid
City, South Dakota. The purpose of the hearing is to gather information
from consumers, industry, civic organizations, and others on broadcasters'
service to their local communities. An important focus of the hearing will
be to gather information and to conduct outreach for the ongoing nationwide
round of broadcast station license renewals. The designated speakers will
include representatives from consumer and advocacy groups as well as
broadcasters. The hearing format will enable members of the public to
participate via an "open microphone" session. Additional details regarding
the designated speakers, agenda, and hearing format will be announced shortly.
For additional information about the hearing or the Localism Task Force,
please visit the Task Force's website at http://www.fcc.gov/localism, or
contact the Task Force directly at 202-418-7777, or at
localism( at )fcc.gov. Press inquiries should be directed to Michelle Russo at
202-418-2358, or Meribeth McCarrick at 202-418-0654.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-1380A1.doc

MORE MONEY FOR BROADCAST NETWORKS
This week, television broadcasters will introduce their 2004-5 prime-time
schedules and will be trying to charge more for ad time - even though
ratings for the 2003-4 season among viewers ages 18 to 49, the ones most
coveted by advertisers, are expected to decline about 6 percent from
2002-3. Forecasts call for an estimated revenue increase for the
broadcasters - ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN and WB - of 3 to 5%, to $9.6 billion
to $9.8 billion, from $9.3 billion sold in the upfront market in spring
2003 ahead of the 2003-4 season. By comparison, the $9.3 billion
represented an increase of 15 percent over the $8.1 billion sold in spring
2002 ahead of the 2002-3 season. "Cable TV is going to make gains year to
year because the dollars are following the eyeballs," said Andy Donchin,
executive vice president and director for national broadcast at Carat North
America in New York, referring to cable's rising viewership because of
popular series like "Monk" on USA and "Punk'd" on MTV. "But I and my fellow
buyers still see a great inherent value in broadcast network television,"
said Mr. Donchin. "It still brings a lot to the table for us." Broadcast TV
is still the place to find very large audiences. And the advertisers that
are likely to increase their spending this year are the ones who favor TV:
"big box" retailers like Lowe's, Kohl's, Wal-Mart, Target, fast food,
movies, prescription drugs and telecommunications.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stuart Elliott]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/business/media/17adcol.html
(requires registration)
WSJ: For Big Marketers Like AmEx, TV Ads Lose Starring Role
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108474859657412894,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

THE POLITICAL STANDARD
The Alliance for Better Campaigns is a public interest group that seeks to
improve elections by promoting campaigns in which the most useful
information reaches the greatest number of citizens in the most engaging
ways. ABC believes that broadcasters can and must use the publicly-owned
airwaves to revitalize our democracy and is working to put meaning back
into broadcasters' statutory obligation to serve the public interest. ABC
publishes an occasional magazine, The Political Standard, and this month's
issue contains a number of stories of interest for media reformers:
* Public Interest, Public Airwaves Coalition Kicks Off National Campaign at
Broadcasters' Trade Show in Vegas
Calling current local news coverage of politics and civic affairs
"pathetic" and "pitiful," Federal Communications Commissioners Michael
Copps and Jonathan Adelstein endorsed a proposal by the newly formed Public
Interest, Public Airwaves Coalition (PIPAC) that calls for stronger public
interest obligations for broadcasters.
* Network News Coverage of '04 Primaries Falls Short, Study Finds
According to a new study by the Alliance for Better Campaigns, the four
major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) devoted just eight percent of their
news hole to election coverage in the two weeks leading up to the Super
Tuesday primaries.
* Station Groups Make Plans for 2004 Election Coverage
Five broadcast companies have pledged to provide air time for candidates on
their television stations in the fall campaign.
* On Broadcast Television, A Failure To Communicate
A message from the groups executive director, Meredith McGehee
* Why Hearst-Argyle Television Believes in Political Coverage
A piece by Candy Altman, Vice President for News at Hearst-Argyle Television
* Coalition Proposes New Guidelines for Civic Discourse As FCC Considers
Rules for Digital Broadcasters
[SOURCE: Alliance for Better Campaigns]
http://www.bettercampaigns.org/standard/display.php?IssueID=44

INDECENCY BILL PROSPECTS DIMMING
With just over a month of working days left in the current Congress,
prospects are dimming for passing legislation aimed at curbing indecent
broadcast content. The main hurdle appears to be in the Senate where John
Sununu (R-NH) will hold up the bill unto provisions to block the FCC's
relaxation of media ownership rules are removed. The odds on the bill are
now 50/50 as the memory of Janet Jackson slowing melts away.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Bill McConnell]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA417967?display=Breaking+News
(requires subscription)

SOME A LA CARTE CALLS CITE NET 'PORN'
"On cable television, you've got programming that is, in essence, soft-core
pornography in the basic package, such as on MTV," says Janet M. LaRue,
chief counsel of Concerned Women for America, a 500,000-member organization
with a right-of-center agenda. Concerned Women are leading a fight in
Congress to introduce a la carte pricing of pay-TV services, allowing
consumers to pay only for the channels they want. Consumer groups are also
part of the effort, arguing that it could lower cable bills. But the cable
industry does not like the plan and is fighting against it. "Cable
television is sold as a bundle of channels, which offers the best value to
consumers," National Cable & Telecommunications Association Brian Dietz
spokesman said. "Any move toward an a la carte mandate would only result in
less choice and higher prices for consumers."
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA417950?display=Top+Stories
(requires subscription)

MASSES TUNE INTO HDTV
High definition television offers prettier pictures and better sound. And
people are starting to buy up HDTV sets. According to the Consumer
Electronics Association, manufacturer-to-dealer digital TV sales for the
first quarter of 2004 totaled 1.39 million, a 104% climb over the same
period in 2003. By 2007, nearly one-third of American households will be
tuning in to HD programs. "Two or three years ago, people were calling HDTV
a failure," says Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the CEA. Today, Shapiro
says, "I have very little worries." The price of HDTV sets are falling
10-30% per year and more HDTV content is available: As of late February,
CBS was airing 27 hours a week of its usual programming in HD, not counting
specials. NBC and ABC were broadcasting 21 hours and 13 hours of usual
programming, respectively.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:Edward C. Baig]
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040517/6206905s.htm

WITH SECOND CHANNEL, FM BRANCHES OUT
As the FCC considers rule for digital radio, stations are beginning to
think about how they will use the technology to serve their communities.
Digital radio technology allows broadcasters to split one FM channel into
two. Stations' plans to use the second channel include more musical
programming, re-airing local programming at different times, running longer
versions of interviews used in shows, serving foreign-language audiences
and neighborhood-targeted programming for young people. National Public
Radio pioneered the technology under the name Tomorrow Radio and is helping
to introduce it to both stations and listeners. Assuming the FCC approves
the signal split, NPR will provide two free streams for stations: Classical
Public Radio Network and a news/talk stream still in development with help
from Public Radio Program Directors Association.
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Mike Janssen]
(http://www.current.org/)

NFCB SEEKS UNIT TO ASSIST NATIVE RADIO
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters has asked the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting for more than $1 million to establish a Center for
Native Radio to seek out nontraditional funding sources for the
approximately 30 radio stations serving Native American audiences. The
center would help very small radio stations with grant applications and
technical support. Traditional funding models for public radio stations --
membership drives and underwriting campaigns -- simply don't work at
reservation-based stations, said Carol Pierson, president of NFCB,
explaining the need for the center. The populations are too small and too
rural, businesses and industry are lacking, unemployment is usually rampant
and the more educated people tend to move away.
[SOURCE: Current, AUTHOR: Geneva Colins]
http://www.current.org/minority/minority0408native.shtml

TELECOM

AT&T IS REBUFFED BY REGIONAL BELLS ON ARBITRATION
On Friday, AT&T Chief Executive David Dorman said the company is
"frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations to date," and called
for the use of arbitration to break the impasse with Baby Bells. Parties to
arbitration must abide by the final agreement. But the Bells have rebuffed
the proposal. Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America backed
AT&T's call for arbitration. The group is concerned that higher wholesale
rates could raise prices for consumers or price Bell competitors out of the
market. "AT&T has realized that the Bells are not interested in a
reasonable solution and has upped the ante by proposing binding
arbitration," Mr. Cooper said. "This approach can provide the needed
breakthrough that levels the playing field among competitors and ensures
long-term competition to the benefit of consumers."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Wigfield
mark.wigfield( at )dowjones.com ]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108458420969712296,00.html?mod=todays...
(requires subscription)

VENTURES AIM TO CUT COST OF OVERSEAS CELL CALLS TO PENNIES
Internet telephone services are coming to cell phones now and could greatly
reduce the costs of making wireless international calls. "It puts the
cellphone providers under attack for the first time," said Rick Scherle,
vice president for marketing at i2Telecom. "The land-line guys have been
wrestling this technology," he said. "We're telling the cellphone guys that
you have to grapple with it now, too." Cellphone calls to London, for
example, are usually $1.75/minute. Using InternetTalker, a cellphone user
would pay just the price of a local call plus three cents per minute.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Ken Belson & Matt Richtel]
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/17/business/17voip.html
(requires registration)

CRAIG MCCAW'S SECRET PLAN
What's Craig McCaw up to? This is the talk of the telecom industry. The man
who put together the first nationwide cellular company -- and sold it to
AT&T for $11.5 billion -- is now buying companies in the wireless broadband
sector. Over the next two years, the costs of wireless broadband are
expected to drop to the point where it can be competitive -- anyplace in
the country -- with traditional wired service from cable and telephone
companies. With the radio licenses he's purchased, Mr McCaw could offer
coast-to-coast Net service at speeds roughly the same as today's broadband.
Insiders say he may soon be offering wireless broadband Internet access
with local and long distance phone service bundled in for $40-$50/month --
a similar bundle from a telephone company costs consumers $100/month now.
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Andrew Park]
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_21/b3884110_mz063.htm

NEW TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERSHIP REPORT
On Friday, the FCC released its latest report on telephone subscribership
levels in the United States, showing that approximately 94.7% of all
households had telephone service. The report presents subscribership
statistics based on the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the
Census Bureau in November 2003. The report also shows subscribership
levels by state, income level, race, age, household size, and employment
status. Highlights include: 1) The telephone penetration rate was 79.4% for
households with annual incomes below $5,000, while the rate for households
with incomes over $75,000 was 98.4%. 2) By state, the penetration rates
ranged from a low of 89.7% in Arkansas to a high of 98.0% in Maine. 3)
Households headed by whites had a penetration rate of 95.5%, while those
headed by blacks had a rate of 89.7% and those headed by Hispanics had a
rate of 90.5%. 4) By age, penetration rates ranged from 86.5% for
households headed by a person under 25 to 97.0% for households headed by a
person over 70. 5) Households with one person had a penetration rate of
91.7%, compared to a rate of 96.2% for households with four or five
persons. 6)The penetration rate for unemployed adults was 92.2%, while the
rate for employed adults was 95.9%.
This report is updated three times a year and is available online from the
FCC-State Link Internet site at http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/iatd/stats.html. For
more information contact Alexander Belinfante at (202) 418-0944
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov)

FUNDING FOR INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS

LOCAL INDEPENDENTS COLLABORATING WITH STATIONS (LInCS) FUND provides
incentive or matching moneys ($10,000-$75,000) to partnerships between
public television stations and independent producers. Single shows in any
genre (including documentary, drama, animation or innovative combinations)
will be considered. Projects may be in any stage of development. Deadline
for applications is May 26. For additional information email
Elizabeth_Meyer( at )itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x270.
[SOURCE: Independent Television Service]
http://www.itvs.org/producers/funding.html
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